Chapter 14 - Jade spirit waterfall

The next day.

In the early morning, Zhou Yuan continued his uninterrupted practice of the ninety-eight frolicking dragon forms before proceeding to the daily channel unblocking.

For now, he had to perform nighty eight frolicking dragon forms to absorb Genesis Qi, but he had a premonition that in some days he wouldn't require it at all and could directly gather Genesis Qi by Breathing, the reason being his increasing proficiency with the skill and his innate affinity with the skill itself.

After finishing, he washed his body and left the royal palace, heading straight for the Great Zhou Institute.

Now that he had entered the A class, he could no longer frequently miss classes like before.

Great Zhou Institute, A class courtyard.

A dozen figures were gathered in a spacious lecture yard, the atmosphere abuzz with noise and excitement.

When Zhou Yuan, Su Youwei, and the other new students entered, the dozen gazes in the yard turned towards them, filled with curiosity and anticipation.

While they were standing, two figures in the lecture yard walked over, one male, the other female. The young man's body looked strong and sturdy, and his skin was a little tanned. A smile decorated his rather rough-looking face, making him appear like a straightforward individual.

The young lady was rather pretty. Although she could not compare to Su Youwei, her long and slender legs were quite eye-catching.

The tanned and straightforward-looking youth smiled at the Zhou Yuan trio and said, "Hehe, welcome you three. I am the class head of the A class, Yang Zai."

"I am Song Qiushui." The pretty girl winked at the trio, smiling happily as she continued, "We found out yesterday that Your Highness Zhou Yuan and the rest of you chose the A class, so here we are today waiting for you guys."

She looked towards Su Youwei and pursed her smiling lips, "Of course, those fellows are more likely looking forward to meeting the number one beauty of our Great Zhou Institute."

Upon hearing her teasing, Su Youwei's fair face blushed a little. Her enchanting appearance drew the dumbstruck stares of quite a few boys in the yard.

Yang Zai chuckled as he looked at Zhou Yuan and said, "Your Highness' performance in the newcomer exam yesterday has already spread throughout the entire institute. With you three joining the A class, our power and fame will rise."

Zhou Yuan just smiled and said, "There is no 'Your Highness' here, call me Zhou Yuan."

Yang Zai was a little taken aback by Zhou Yuan's placid mannerisms, but quickly showed a simple-looking smile as he nodded his head. "Since Your Highness says so, we will feel free to do so."

The group introduced themselves to each other and the A class members were swiftly acquainted. These older students were also youths and were both kind and friendly. Thus, there was no case of 'putting the new students in their place' and the group quickly grew closer after getting to know each other.

Yang Zai was the number one individual in the A class, hence his election as class head. He had opened five meridian channels and while Song Qiushui was slightly weaker, she too had opened five meridian channels.

Such strength was indeed inferior to Qi Yue. No wonder Chu Tianyang constantly worried about the year-end class ranking exam.

While the group was getting to know each other better, Chu Tianyang walked into the yard and coughed softly, immediately causing the many noisy boys and girls to quieten down as they respectfully said, "Greetings class master."

Chu Tianyang nodded in acknowledgment. "From today, there will be three more members in our A class. You guys should have already acquainted yourselves with them right?"

Many boys and girls responded with a yes.

"Good. From today, your training will be doubled." Chu Tianyang indifferently declared with his hands behind his back.

The moment these words were heard, a series of complaints and grumbling erupted.

Chu Tianyang coldly snorted, suppressing the various noises as he raised his voice. "The year-end class ranking exam is not far off. If you guys still do not put in more effort in training because if no one can reach six channels by the end of the year, you won't even have the qualifications to vie with others. When that happens, the A class will become the B class. What face will you guys have left then?!"

Ashamed looks emerged on the student's faces after being chided as they hastily lowered their heads, while the strongest Yang Zai and Song Qiushui let out a bitter laugh. Though they had done all they could to catch up, the momentum was currently with the B class and Qi Yue was just too formidable, firmly suppressing them from start to end.

Upon seeing that everyone no longer dared to speak, Chu Tianyang's expression relaxed as he said, "Everyone gets ready, the Jade Spirit Waterfall opens today. I hope that no one will delay us."

The moment these words were said, the eyes of the many boys and girls in the yard abruptly brightened as their faces filled with excitement.

"Jade Spirit Waterfall…"

Zhou Yuan muttered.

In this stage of his life, where Cultivation resources were scarce, this waterfall was a very useful resource for both Genesis Cultivation and Body tempering.

This was also one of the main reasons why Zhou Yuan was unwilling to miss any classes after entering the A class.

In the mountains behind the Great Zhou Institute was a lush and verdant mountain peak where a silver-river-like waterfall was located. The rumbling sounds of crashing water spread throughout the entire mountain range. It was a very majestic sight indeed.

Zhou Yuan, Su Youwei, and the rest of the A-class students were currently standing below the waterfall where a giant lake lay, its waters as clear as a mirror.

"So this is the Jade Spirit Waterfall?"

Su Youwei gazed at the falling torrent of water, curiosity all over her face. It was clear that She had heard of it before.

Song Qiushui nodded from the side as she said with a grin, "This is the cultivation treasure land of our Great Zhou Institute, the Jade Spirit Waterfall. It is said that there is a patch of purple spirit quartz growing at the top of the waterfall, and the water that flows down contains a sliver of extremely gentle quartz energy. When the powerful force of the waterfall strikes the body, the quartz energy within will be pushed into the body which helps us unblock our meridian channels."

"Of course, the most important aspect is that this extremely gentle quartz energy will not damage our meridian channels. So even if our meridian channels have reached the daily limits of the usual unblocking method, we will still be able to make use of the Jade Spirit Waterfall for channel opening training."

Exceptional splendor instantly blossomed in Su Youwei's eyes when she heard this. Due to the threshold of the meridian channels, there was a limit to the number of daily channel unblocking sessions for each individual. Yet, this Jade Spirit Waterfall before their eyes was able to help them unblock their channels without harming them even after the channels had reached their limit. This point alone allowed one to understand the value of the Jade Spirit Waterfall.

Zhou Yuan also smiled and nodded. This was why he regarded the Jade Spirit Waterfall as important. After completing several rounds of channel unblocking sessions each day, his channels would reach their limit, but with the aid of this Jade Spirit Waterfall, he would be able to continue unblocking his channels.

There was no doubt that this would speed up his training.

"However, the Jade Spirit Waterfall needs to absorb the natural Genesis Qi of the land to provide a steady stream of quartz energy. Hence, it only opens for use once every two days."

Yang Zai chuckled at Zhou Yuan and Su Youwei before continuing, "You guys are pretty lucky to come across such a chance the moment you enter the A class."

"The Jade Spirit Waterfall is open for 16 hours. According to the rules, our A class is allocated 6 hours, the B class 4 hours and the other classes 2 hours. Because we are the A class, both the amount of time and our time slot is the best."

Zhou Yuan nodded in understanding. Soon after, he clicked his tongue and said, "To think that we only have 6 hours."

Yang Zai let out a gentle chuckle. "6 hours is already a lot. Moreover, you might not be able to last that long."

"haha, senior is worrying too much If It was possible I would have sat in it for hours.", Zhou Yuan said casually.

Yang Zai was stunned by the strong confidence in his words.

"Alright, no more nonsense. Prepare to enter the rooms and get your Genesis Runes inscribed." At the front, Chu Tianyang clapped his hands together, interrupting everyone's conversations. He pointed towards the nearby lakeside where two large bamboo rooms were located.

"We need to get Genesis Runes inscribed?" Su Youwei was stunned upon hearing this.

"Zhou Yuan knew of the genesis rune inscribing but he was not going to get the rune inscribed.

He was going to use this opportunity to test his body endurance and temper his will and pain endurance, as his future endeavors were not going to be easy and he was going to roam the edge of life and death, always putting his body to extreme conditions, and this waterfall was just a start.

If he can't even endure this much pressure then he should not dream of becoming the first Mortal God.

Song Qiushui explained, "Yes. Every time we come to the Jade Spirit Waterfall to train, the institute will dispatch teachers proficient in Genesis Runes to draw a Genesis Gathering Rune for every student. It is a grade 1 Genesis Rune that increases the effectiveness of absorbing quartz energy from the waterfall,"

They arrived at the bamboo rooms while conversing. There were two bamboo rooms, one for the guys and the other for the girls. Everyone lined up to enter, but while the male students were queuing up, shifty gazes would shoot towards the girls' room from time to time.

When Zhou Yuan's turn arrived he refused to get it inscribed and went outside.

After exiting the bamboo room, Zhou Yuan happened to see Su Youwei walking out. He walked over and stealthily glanced at her back. Past her fair neck, he was able to see some portions of a faintly glowing rune.

"Where do you think you are looking!" Su Youwei's pretty face blushed a little as she glared at him when she sensed his gaze.

Zhou Yuan chuckled.

Rumble!

The enormous waterfall was akin to a roaring water dragon. Water pounded downwards into the lake, causing huge waves to rise and vapor to fill the air.

Chu Tianyang took out a large incense stick and lit it before placing it in a crevice between the rocks beside him. Next, he sternly looked towards the group and said, "Get ready. You only have 6 hours. I hope that none of you will waste this chance."

As he spoke, he looked toward Zhou Yuan, Su Youwei, and the other new student before continuing, "You three wait here first and observe."

The Zhou Yuan trio nodded and looked toward Yang Zai, Song Qiushui, and the rest. Their gazes were both expectant and somewhat fearful as they looked at the Jade Spirit Waterfall. In the end, they took in a deep breath, gritted their teeth, and charged into the training platform in the middle of the waterfall.

Rumble!

A boundless torrent roared as it fell. Yang Zai and gang dashed into the waterfall, their legs powerfully gripping the rock below them as they allowed the water the pound onto their bodies.

The force from such a gigantic waterfall was undoubtedly tremendous. Therefore, the bodies of Yao Zai and the rest shook even though they were using all of their strength.

They tightly gritted their teeth as torrents of water smashed into their bodies. It was akin to being continuously slapped, causing their faces to distort somewhat in pain.

The Genesis Runes on their backs emitted a faint glow as wisps of purple energy seemed to flow into their bodies while the water crashed down upon them.

Rumble!

Numerous students endured the battering of the waterfall. This lasted for about ten minutes before some began to waver. In the end, the students were washed into the lake below one after another with a respective shriek.

Yang Zai and Song Qiushui persisted the longest but were only able to last for slightly over twenty minutes before falling into the lake.

When they crawled out from the lake, their skin was bruised black and green as if they had been beaten. From their miserable grimacing appearances, it was obvious that their entire bodies were in pain.

They, both loved and hated the Jade Spirit Waterfall. Though the quartz energy was admittedly able to help unblock their meridian channels, they would be bruised all over by the water each time. It was akin to receiving a series of vicious beatings.

Chu Tianyang said to Zhou Yuan, Su Youwei, and the other remaining students, "You three are up next."

"Heh heh, good luck. The first time always ends rather quickly." Yang Zai mischievously chuckled at Zhou Yuan.

Zhou Yuan exchanged a look with Su Youwei before they advanced, stopping in front of the waterfall as they watched the thundering waters descend.

Zhou Yuan's skin tensed the moment he entered the waterfall, as if oblivious to the pain he sat on the rock and took a meditative posture.

While Zhou Yuan acted calmly others did not.

"How painful!"

The boundless torrent viciously pummelled them, causing them to gasp. Such power was too brutal and had almost swatted them into the lake.

As the water pounded him, Zhou Yuan could sense a gentle energy, It flowed into his body and slightly alleviated the intense pain.

AH!

While Zhou Yuan was tenaciously holding on with gritted teeth, a cry was heard from the side. The new student could endure no longer and had been swept into the lake by an enormous torrent of water.

Zhou Yuan sneaked a peak from the corner of his eye and saw the faint silhouette of Su Youwei's lovely figure tottering on the verge of collapse under the rampaging water. However, she bitterly persisted.

"This quartz energy is indeed very effective! However, it's a pity that it's somewhat sparse." Thoughts spun in Zhou Yuan's head. If he was able to absorb more quartz energy, he should be able to fully alleviate the physical pain due to the boundless flowing water. If that happened, he would be able to endure longer.

However, the Jade Spirit Waterfall was wide and the water that crashed down onto his body would at most contain a wisp of quartz energy. It was not likely for him to have more.

Zhou Yuan then used his spirit power to sense the Quartz energy, his soul was much stronger than others and it also increased his sensing ability.

The thundering sound of water became silent and Zhou Yuan was able to sense strands of purple energy swimming within the endlessly falling waterfall.

He nudged his Spirit with a thought and a strange glow appeared between his brows. One could faintly see a slightly opaque figure seated there.

It was his soul.

A suction force emerged from the illusory figure. This suction force was not strong, but it was focused and only targeted the purple strands of flowing energy.

While Zhou Yuan was using his Spirit to absorb the purple energy, a faint purple glow emerged from the water that was continuously battering his body and steadily tunneled into his body.

Zhou Yuan's slightly shut eyes suddenly opened at this moment as they filled with wild joy and excitement. In that brief moment earlier, he had felt the amount of quartz energy flowing into his body multiply a dozenfold!

As Zhou Yuan felt the increasingly loosening third meridian channel in his body, he was excited but did not lose his focus.

Others were only able to absorb quartz energy from the water that hit their bodies, but he could consciously absorb and his range was much greater. The difference between the two need not be said.

If all things went well he would be able to open his third meridian today.

Plop!

While Zhou Yuan was happily absorbing the quartz energy, a figure sitting beside him also fell into the water. A head emerged, revealing Su Youwei. Her pretty face was rather pale and bruises could be seen all over her fair wrist.

Zhou Yuan opened his eyes to enjoy the scene in front of him.

Due to the water, Su Youwei's clothes were wet and tightly hugged her lovely figure, causing her exquisitely enchanting curves to show. He could even faintly see her fair skin that glowed with the radiance of youth.

Crash!

However, before Zhou Yuan could get a better look, water splashed into his face. He raised his gaze, only to find Su Youwei glaring at him with a beet-red face.

Zhou Yuan laughed merrily.

Su Youwei tightly gritted her pearly-white teeth. This fellow was adept when it came to taking advantage of others. If it was anyone else, she would have long sent a slap flying over. However, she could not gather any hate for Zhou Yuan and only felt bashful and angry.

"Hooligan!"

Su Youwei pushed with her hands, causing a wave of water to crash into Zhou Yuan's head. At the same time, she used the resultant force to gracefully fly out of the water, nimbly landing at the edge of the lake as Genesis Qi's light flowed around her body, rapidly evaporating the water in her wet clothes.

Happiness was revealed in Chu Tianyang's eyes when he looked at Su Youwei as he praised, "Not bad. You persevered for about ten minutes. That's a pretty good time for a first-timer."

Except for Yang Zai and Song Qiushui, the majority of the older class A members had only managed to endure for roughly ten minutes.

Su Youwei's performance was pretty good for new students who had come into contact with the Jade Spirit Waterfall for the first time.

By the side, the faces of Yang Zai, Song Qiushui, and the rest of the older students were filled with amazement as they looked at the two. However, they were not too surprised by Su Youwei's achievement because she was after all a four-channel practitioner.

They were surprised most at Zhou Yuan who was still sitting in the waterfall.

"Hehe, if such a pathetic time can be considered pretty good, the Jade Spirit Waterfall has truly been squandered." While they were sighing in amazement, a sneer was suddenly heard, causing the atmosphere to pause for a moment. Subsequently, angry gazes turned toward the direction of the sound one by one.

However, they froze when they saw who had spoken.

a large group of people had arrived at some unknown time. At the front of the group, a handsome Qi Yue stood straight with his hands behind his back, giving off a dignified aura. Beside him was the beautiful and eye-catching Liu Xi. Disdain was currently visible on her face as she stared at the members of the A class. It was she who had spoken earlier.

The rest of the B-class students also showed contempt on their faces as if looking down upon the performance of the many A-class students.

"The B class." Yang Zai's face was riddled with fury while the others were also brimming with rage due to the undeserved remark. To come and criticize them even during their training was an intolerable act.

Zhou Yuan was too lazy to argue with these fools but still, he had to teach this bitch a lesson.

While still sitting in the waterfall, he asked in a flat voice, "May I ask how long you lasted in the Jade Spirit Waterfall during your first time?"

Liu Xi's pretty face turned rigid. She was angered but was unable to reply.

Qi Yue smiled superficially as he interjected, "There's no need for Your Highness to lower yourself to her level. I'm not too clear on how long Liu Xi managed to endure during her first time, but I recall that I persisted for 30 minutes for mine."

Although they knew that Qi Yue was doing this on purpose, Yang Zai, Song Qiushui, and the many A-class members were incapable of retorting and felt a little dejected. Qi Yue's first time had already been 30 minutes, while they on the other hand were barely able to achieve a time of slightly over 20 minutes even till now.

With an abnormality like Qi Yue in the B class, will their A class ever be able to rise again?

The morale of the A class was a little low for a time.

"Do you guys still intend to train?!" While they were silent, Chu Tianyang's stern voice boomed through the air. He looked towards Qi Yue and the rest and said with an expressionless face, "If it is not the B class' turn, do not come here and disturb others' training or you will be punished!"

The B-class students shrunk back in response to Chu Tianyang's chilly gaze. Only Qi Yue remained unaffected as he replied with a nonchalant smile, "No need to get angry headmaster, we have only assembled here in advance to wait for our turn at the Jade Spirit Waterfall. If just watching will interfere with their training, the A-class students would be a little too delicate."

The A-class students hatefully gritted their teeth upon hearing the mockery hidden in his words.

"You Misinterpreted Headmaster's words, he was just afraid that seeing me training may break that fragile little Ego of yours", Zhou Yuan nonchalantly added from the side while still sitting in the waterfall.

This was the next level of looking down as his eyes were closed like he didn't consider them worthy of his attention. (To be honest, he truly didn't consider them worth his time)

Some giggles and murmuring sounded in Class A, while Class B students had anger written on their faces.

Chu Tianyang swept a cold glance at Qi Yue before withdrawing his gaze and saying in a loud voice, "Continue training!"

Zhou Yuan gently tapped his fingers as he looked toward Qi Yue and said, "Also is half an hour considered long?"

"Tch, what a sharp tongue! Look at him, does he believe he can compare to you?" Liu Xi said bitterly while looking at Zhou Yuan who was still sitting under the waterfall.

Crash! Crash!

Students once again fell into the lake one after another. Perhaps because of their low morale, the performance of many students was even worse than earlier, and the time they were able to endure was shorter.

At the lakeside, Chu Tianyang's face turned stormy black as he watched this.

On the other hand, the smiles on the faces of Qi Yue, Liu Xi, and the rest of the B-class students grew wider and wider.

Crash!

Su Youwei also fell into the water. She had endured for a whole 20 minutes this time, an achievement that made the A-class students exclaim in admiration. This timing was fast approaching Yang Zai's and Song Qiushui's.

Su Youwei's performance also made Chu Tianyang's expression lighten a little.

Almost immediately after Su Youwei, Yang Zai, and Song Qiushui also landed in the water with an inward sigh. They were still unable to last 30 minutes.

The entire group was silent as they left the water, bathed in a rather stifling atmosphere. Suddenly, Su Youwei's slightly alarmed voice sounded, "His Highness is still up there!"

A total of 40 minutes had passed since Zhou Yuan sat in the waterfall.

The group was stunned upon hearing this and their gazes turned towards the Jade Spirit Waterfall. Sure enough, they saw the faint silhouette of a figure within.

Song Qiushui covered her mouth with a hand as she cried out, "Zhou Yuan is about to reach 40 minutes?!"

Yang Zai scratched his head, a look of disbelief on his face.

Unlike them, Su Youwei's eyebrows were knitted together, worry clouding her eyes. She was worried that Zhou Yuan was purposely pushing himself over the limit and stubbornly holding on. If that was the case, it would instead hurt his body and affect his channel opening.

"Interesting." Qi Yue could not help but softly chuckle as he watched. The depths of his eyes were full of disdain as he stared at the faint silhouette in the waterfall. From what he could see, Zhou Yuan's stubbornness would only hurt him.

"I'm interested to see just how long he can continue acting tough!" Liu Xi sneered. Her pretty face had a gloating look on it.

Hence, everyone's gazes were directed at the figure in the waterfall. They were so fixated that Su Youwei and the rest did not have the mood to climb up again and ended up standing there watching.

Under their tense gazes, time swiftly flowed.

50 Minutes

An hour

70 minutes

80 minutes

.

.

By the time it reached an hour, everyone at the bank of the lake had become silent. Even Qi Yue's eyes had started to flicker in uncertainty, slowly frowning as unease gradually crept up inside him.

The B-class students looked at each other. An hour. Besides Qi Yue, no one in their B class could accomplish this. Furthermore, Qi Yue was a six-channel practitioner!

As it reached 80 minutes Qi Yue was completely uneasy.

Liu Xi tightly clenched her jaw and could not help but mumble, "Could something have happened?"

Boom!

Just as her words faded, a noise was heard from the waterfall. Everyone could only watch as Zhou Yuan's body finally fell, plunging head-first into the lake below.

His figure emerged on the lake, but his eyes were tightly shut.

Upon seeing this, Liu Xi immediately sneered. "Looks like his injuries are not light."

The moment her sneer appeared, Zhou Yuan suddenly opened his eyes. Everyone could see a stream of Genesis Qi light curl around his body, causing whirlpools to form in the surrounding lake waters.

His sleeves flapped as a faint rumble spread from his body. Streams of Genesis Qi rushed into him, causing his aura to soar.

"This is?!" The pupils of Qi Yue, Liu Xi, and the rest shrunk when they saw this.

"How is this possible?!"

Su Youwei, Yang Zai, Song Qiushui also gasped.

Chu Tianyang's face trembled with emotion. His eyes seemed to shine as he stared at Zhou Yuan, pausing between each word as he mumbled, "To think… he has unblocked his third meridian channel?!"

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END 

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